The famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings) and rarities. Team Viva lists some more interesting facts of his life
The world celebrated the 407th birth anniversary of one of the greatest painters in European art history — Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age when Dutch Golden Age painting, although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative.
Having achieved success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt’s later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for 20 years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.
Here are a few interesting facts from the painter’s life:
In 1629, Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman Constantijn Huygens, the father of Christiaan Huygens (a famous Dutch mathematician and physicist), who procured for Rembrandt important commissions from the court of The Hague. As a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646.
Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings), and rarities, which probably caused a court arrangement to avoid his bankruptcy in 1656, by selling most of his paintings and large collection of antiquities.
The Night Watch, which is one of the most famous paintings in the world, was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn between 1640 and 1642. The Night Watch is his most celebrated work.
Rembrandt produced etchings for most of his career, from 1626 to 1660, when he was forced to sell his printing-press and virtually abandoned etching.
In 1968 the Rembrandt Research Project was started under the sponsorship of the Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Scientific Research; it was initially expected to last a highly optimistic ten years.
A parallel development may be seen in Rembrandt’s skill as a printmaker. In the etchings of his maturity, particularly from the late 1640s onward, the freedom and breadth of his drawings and paintings found expression in the print medium as well. The works encompass a wide range of subject matter and technique, sometimes leaving large areas of white paper to suggest space.
In his portraits and self-portraits, he angles the sitter’s face in such a way that the ridge of the nose nearly always forms the line of demarcation between brightly illuminated and shadowy areas. A Rembrandt face is always eclipsed.
In the late 1640s, Rembrandt started a relationship with the much younger lady, who had initially been his maid.
Rembrandt died at the age of 63 on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam.